


Into His Hands

by taekaneru



Series: Find The Way [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Domestic, First Time, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:54:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21886996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taekaneru/pseuds/taekaneru
Summary: Chanyeol had not anticipated that his clumsiness could throw him in such a fortunate situation: Where he was allowed to stay at Kyungsoo’s house in the forest, and being taken care of so thoroughly that his face burns just thinking of it.Or:Chanyeol’s clumsiness leads him deeper into his own personal fairytale.This is a sequel toOut of the Woods.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol
Series: Find The Way [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576639
Comments: 6
Kudos: 91





	Into His Hands

**Author's Note:**

> As some of you expressed interest in possible further developments of this tale and I already had some ideas: Here you go. This is for you (if you want it or not).
> 
> If you haven’t read the first part of this series, I highly recommend it, although this could possibly stand alone. Still: You don’t do yourself any harm if you go and check out its predecessor.

Mornings in the forest, when the shift from night to day settles the worlds of plants and living creatures in a strange, but kind and soft light, have always belonged to Chanyeol’s favorite moments. The last remnants of the misty dawn being chased away by the first rays of an amber sun make everything look like a fairytale.

Chanyeol takes a deep breath and surveils his GPS while making his way further up eastwards. He has started his hike half an hour ago, leaving the small house of the forester where he’s currently residing behind and planning to reach the quarry by early afternoon.

After a two-day delay of his research expedition for his project in structural geology at university, he’s on schedule again. 

The project is his last chance at completing the remaining module of the semester before he would be starting his master’s thesis next semester. Normally, his professors do not demand such exceptional efforts, but he had failed the written exam pitifully and, after a lot of discussing and a bit of whining, he was granted to do a field trip in examining and documenting a unique structural accumulation of soil and slate, formed in what could possibly be tens of thousands of years.

As he knows this effort may be larger than what’s normally expected from students – and an extra semester would not have been a disaster – Chanyeol is still happy that he can do what he loves. Being in the nature and working in sync with it, learning and documenting what the earth created in timeframes surpassing multiple human lifespans – he feels grateful he can be a part of this and contribute to the science world and enlarge knowledge about the foundation of all life and living.

Almost chuckling at his larger-than-life aspirations, Chanyeol continues his way, the sun rising and its rays illuminating the trees beautifully.

Chanyeol stops several times to take pictures and update his social media feeds. The woods are just too ethereal to withhold these spectacular views from his friends and followers.

Hiking further, Chanyeol notices that contrary to his first day in the forest, now he can not only see the beauty of the forest, but also hear it. When he went to start his trip, the woods were practically devoid of any noise or animals.

Now he can even watch some birds sit on branches in the trees above him. Small, mouse-like animals cross his path, and insects fly around his head or sit on tree bark or on the leaves of the bushes lining his paths.

When the day reaches noon, he takes a rest on a small clearing and sits down on some flattened rocks to eat his lunch and relax for a moment.

Glancing at his phone, he checks the latest messages and replies to his mom and the group chat he gets picked on in with his friends. Jongdae and Baekhyun seem to have conspired against him in mocking him endlessly for his clumsiness in the first days of his trip and his luck in being rescued from his own misfortunes. Groaning, he decides to ignore them. They are just jealous because of the pics Chanyeol posted. But maybe he should call Sehun to update and tell a bit more about his last days in the forest.

Thinking about it, Chanyeol places his face into his hands and groans again in embarrassment and another, hotter feeling spreading from his belly through his body, leaving something akin to butterflies in his stomach. _Kyungsoo._

After hitting his head while stumbling across some roots on his path and crashing most unfortunately two days ago, he was found and cared for by a mysterious handsome forester, who goes by the name Do Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol had not anticipated that his clumsiness could throw him in such a fortunate situation: Where he was allowed to stay at Kyungsoo’s house in the forest, and being taken care of so thoroughly that his face burns just thinking of it. 

It is like Kyungsoo had taken one look at him and had known everything he had ever wanted, and somehow given it to him. From the first touch of his fingers on his jaw, to their tangled legs in the bed only hours ago…

Chanyeol huffs a heated breath and rubs a hand over his face in an attempt to clear his head. His fingers catch on the tender skin on his forehead, the cut resulting from his fall had healed so fast. Probably thanks to Kyungsoo, who had taken the care quite seriously, so that he had been able to continue his geology project this morning; like Kyungsoo had predicted.

Still, Chanyeol’s insides prickle with excitement when he thinks about Kyungsoo. 

How his arms had felt across his chest, how his fingers had slid over his body, his face… how his lips had caressed his, how his tongue had tasted… How Kyungsoo’s body had felt against his, the heat of his skin, the little noises he had made.

What they would have done had they not been interrupted…

Chanyeol groans and feels like his body physically suffers from being withdrawn from the handsome man with the large beautiful eyes and his all-encompassing presence.

Last evening, when Chanyeol had worked up the nerve to make a move on Kyungsoo, the man had seemed like he had anticipated this and every wish Chanyeol had thought of. Kissing Kyungsoo had been the hottest thing he’d ever done; never had just kissing someone felt like that. Chanyeol had been burning up from the inside. His built-up desire for the man may have had manifested in short time, but it was even stronger.

_What they would have done_ when Kyungsoo had not had to leave… Chanyeol sighs, from the bottom of his heart.

Kyungsoo had just started to push Chanyeol’s shirt up, his hands hot on his skin. Chanyeol’s fingers were grabbing onto Kyungsoo’s hips, holding him pressed onto his body, suckling wet kisses into the man’s soft skin in the crook of his neck. 

With a sudden crash outside, and then another, louder one directly next to the window, Kyungsoo had stopped and lifted his head from where it had been buried into the pillow next to Chanyeol’s.

They had both looked towards the window, the last light outside illuminating a large deer or something outside on the porch. Its antlers had rattled vigorously against the window frame, the look in its eyes had seemed somehow frantic and desperate (as far as Chanyeol could appoint emotions to an animal).

Kyungsoo had planted his face into Chanyeol’s chest with a deep groan, his fingers clenching in Chanyeol’s shirt.

“Sorry,” he had said, “I’m really sorry, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol had scrambled for a look at Kyungsoo’s face, not comprehending.

“What…?”

“Chanyeol. I’m really sorry, and whatever is the cause for this will be fucking sorry for the interruption… but I have to go and check what’s happened.”

“What? What’s _happened?_ How—how do you know that something has happened?!”

Kyungsoo had sighed and smoothed Chanyeol’s shirt down again, rolling off and sitting up next to his flushed body.

“You saw that deer outside? It sounds weird, but… it comes only to my house if there’s a problem somewhere, and I have to go check because I’m responsible for the forest…” Kyungsoo had stood up, pulling a pair of black trousers out of the closet and taking a wool sweater off the chair by the bed.

Chanyeol had been speechless, to his own surprise. Sitting on Kyungsoo’s bed, lips still tingling from Kyungsoo’s kisses, his fingers itching for the man, he had tried to calm down enough to try and understand what had happened.

“O—okay?” he’d stammered. “But, I—will you come back?”

Kyungsoo had chuckled, already fully dressed, and had taken the few steps back to Chanyeol. His hands had reached for Chanyeol’s face, thumbs smoothing over heated skin. His gaze had been warm, and then he had leaned down to fit his lips onto Chanyeol’s again.

Their kiss had lingered, with Kyungsoo’s fingers stroking the skin behind Chanyeol’s ears, sucking at his upper lip briefly before he had pulled back. He had watched Chanyeol with attentive eyes, his gaze roaming over his features. Chanyeol had felt hot, but also a sensation rushing through his body that felt like safety, protection, and maybe like… love? He’d shuddered.

“Of course, I’ll come back. It’s just—I don’t know how long this will take. If I’m not back by morning, please take what you need for breakfast and continue your project, if you feel like it. On the fridge is a sticker with the GPS coordinates of the house, so feel free to save the data and come back when you like. You’ll find me.”

Kyungsoo then had ruffled Chanyeol’s light hair once more, fingers softly grazing his scalp. Chanyeol almost would _not_ have purred.

“I’d really like for you to come back, you know,” Kyungsoo had added a tad shyly with a flush on his cheeks and a furrow in his brow, pulling his lower lip between his teeth.

“Okay… thank you,” Chanyeol had bowed, as much as his sitting position allowed it, cheeks red. 

Kyungsoo had left then, tugging on his heavy boots and exiting the house, the door falling shut with a thud.

Chanyeol had, after he had managed to make himself a slice of bread with some cheese and chugged down another bottle of water, gone to bed again, finding that he should use the time to rest and let his head heal.

In the morning, when it had been clear that Kyungsoo was still away, he had taken a quick wash and after packing some bread and water for lunch, he’d made his way into the forest again. He’d assumed that if he got his project’s measurements done as quickly as possible, he could return to Kyungsoo again and maybe continue where they’d had to leave off.

Sighing, Chanyeol decides that some text messages to Sehun have to suffice. He also checks his gallery and selects some extra photos he had taken in the morning in the house, and also includes a selfie he takes this instant. Smiling into the camera, he cannot suppress his grin getting bigger and bigger, as he sees himself wearing a black sweater he’d found in Kyungsoo’s closet this morning. It’s a bit tight over his chest, but he thinks he looks quite nice in it. He’s already excited of sharing everything in detail over a few beers with Sehun when he returns.

Packing up his things again, he shoulders his backpack and pulls at the straps, fastening the one across his chest, making his way up a steep path.

\---

By afternoon, after a successful hike, Chanyeol arrives at the quarry, impressed as the rocks and plates of slate build up steeply in front of him, higher than the trees, and on the right side, beside the path, down into a valley where a little river flows.

Everything looks ancient and like the last time someone visited must have been quite some time ago. The way leading up here is also barely visible. Had Chanyeol not had his GPS, he’s not sure if he would have stumbled upon it. Surely, no tourists usually come along.

Unpacking his equipment from his backpack and adjusting the tripod for his laser, he sets everything up and then starts taking pictures of everything. His phone is going to be so full of pictures, he will have a hard time sorting everything when he gets back home.

After the first set of measuring is done, Chanyeol pauses and snacks on the remains of his lunch. He thinks about Kyungsoo again, probably more than is healthy, and hopes he will be home when he finishes here.

He checks his phone, but save a few messages from Sehun there are no other notices. He’d pinned a note with a little message and his phone number on Kyungsoo’s table when he left, hoping that Kyungsoo would contact him when he returned. He supposes Kyungsoo has a phone—considering all the appliances in his house and his comment about the GPS-data on his fridge.

\---

Over the next one and a half hours, Chanyeol completes another run of the laser measuring, catalogues the types of rocks he can reach without climbing equipment and collects a few specimens. He also draws a quick sketch of the cliffs, as far as it is possible and useful beside the mass of photos already taken.

When Chanyeol makes for his way back, some clouds have formed over the light blue sky and shroud everything with gray light. It looks as if the weather will possibly change when it dawns, so he should not dawdle too much now.

Grabbing his GPS and opening the settings, he removes the coordinates of the quarry and goes to switch them for the coordinates of Kyungsoo’s house. Pulling his phone out of his trousers, he opens the gallery app, and just that instant the screen blinks once with the battery symbol and fills with black.

“Nooo! Please!” Chanyeol screams, from zero to full-on desperation mode in half a second.

“Pleeease, _please,_ don’t be dead,” he hisses with gritted teeth, but his phone only winks the battery symbol at him when he tries to turn it back on. Why didn’t he think about charging before he left?! Why didn’t he put the coordinates in the GPS right away?

Angrily stuffing the phone back into his pocket, he pushes his fingers into his closed eyes, exasperation and anger making way for panic, then for real desperation. Helplessness fills his throat until he can barely breathe anymore. 

What _is it_ with this forest? After injuring himself, going lost and getting found, he now is _again_ lost in the woods?

“Oh god… oh shit,” he mumbles, fingers shakily rubbing his eyes to combat the tears forming there.

As if on cue, it starts to rain, thick drops hitting his head and face.

He seeks shelter under a large fir, hoping that maybe the rain will only be a short downpour and he can climb down the paths a bit after it has cleared up again.

Forcing in a breath to calm his panic-heart, he goes to sit down on a rock and waits, surveying the GPS for the map of the region. Maybe he can reconstruct the way back and will find Kyungsoo’s house again by chance?

Half an hour later, the rain hasn’t let up, if all, it has gotten worse. In addition, dawn is creeping up.

Chanyeol feels a bit cold, even if he has pulled his raincoat over his sweater some time ago. He has made sure that all his equipment is safely stored in his waterproof backpack and now only can wait. He is not sure where exactly Kyungsoo’s house is located, based on his examination of the maps, but he can probably say with some degree of confidence that it lies south-west, at a walk of at least two hours’ distance.

Somewhere in the woods, among the rain splattering on the leaves and running down the little rivers and rivulets, he hears animals shrieking and calling. The sounds now, when there’s rain in the forest, are somehow foreign. 

Chanyeol suppresses a shiver.

It is almost dark now. He judges the rain hasn’t increased, and he should possibly risk the hike back, unless he wants to freeze here, under the trees, on a rock, in the dark of night.

He pulls his backpack on tightly and carefully starts the way down.

Ten meters later, suddenly, a mouse crosses his way, once, twice, skipping over his feet.

He shrieks in surprise, startling into a stumble and catching himself at the last second.

“Ooh, _god!_ You got me there,” he huffs, more to himself than to anyone specific.

The mouse stops in front of him, rising to sit up on its hind legs in the middle of the path, and stares somewhat accusingly at him.

“Uh—what?” Chanyeol says, eying the animal warily.

The mouse jumps once, then turns around itself twice. It stops briefly, before rounding Chanyeol’s feet once, then skitters down the way a bit. It halts, turns, and waits.

Chanyeol is stumped. What does this mean?

As if his hesitation is not accepted, the mouse squeaks, running in a small circle in front of him.

“What do you want me to do?” Chanyeol asks, still stunned, but the mouse does not reply, it just further bounds down the path.

Chanyeol is just about to ponder if panic can create hallucinations and thinks that _Probably, yes,_ as he feels a nudge at his waist from his right.

Slowly, he turns, and then chokes on a scream, stumbling into the bushes, because—

“ _God!_ What—what’s going on here?!”

A deer comes out of the covert, its antlers down low, before it raises his head. It’s barely his height, including the antlers, and it nods its head towards him, and then towards the path, where the mouse is still sitting.

“You too?!” Chanyeol shrieks, scrambling for his backpack and pulling himself up, trying to get his breathing back to normal.

“Are you the one from last night?” he asks the deer, as he figures when he already hallucinates, he can at least make the most of it.

The deer seems to approve, tilting its head down a little. 

Chanyeol tries to remember if you are supposed to make eye contact or if that is the exact wrong thing to do, but the deer exudes such a calm aura that he thinks it will not hold any mistake against Chanyeol. 

He takes a cautious step towards the animal, lifting his hand like in slow-motion towards it, reaching out carefully.

Chanyeol is holding his breath, enchanted by the encounter. The rain, the darkness, do not matter anymore.

The deer barely nudges his hand, warm breath over his fingers, before it lowers its head fully, slowly.

Air hitches in Chanyeol’s throat as he sees the little bundle sitting on the back of the deer. It takes another step towards Chanyeol, turning his flank towards him. He can almost feel the warmth radiating of the animal, its fur wet but still flawless.

Now that the deer is standing with its side directly in front of Chanyeol, he realizes that the bundle… is a small bird? He crouches down a bit, squints.

And right.

It’s a little owl, completely drenched, its beak half tucked under its wing, eyes closed.

“Hey, little guy,” Chanyeol starts, approaching the animal. Should owls be this wet? Could they even fly, this soaked? _Probably not._ He reaches out with his right hand, fingers slightly spread, not daring to touch the animal.

The owl trembles almost invisibly, turning its head from its wing towards Chanyeol and opens its eyes. They are big, brown, and so, so round. They look like galaxies are hidden inside. Chanyeol is frozen, mesmerized.

He comes back to himself when the owl blinks, looking— _annoyed?_ It spreads its wet wings, shakes them futilely and takes a little hop towards his hand. Chanyeol turns his palm up reflexively, and with another mighty little jump, the owl is _in his hand_ now, Chanyeol’s other hand shooting out to support the sudden shift of weight. He hisses as claws bore into his fingers.

“Ouch, careful, please! I’ll help you, yes yes, it’s okay!”

The deer shakes out its fur once and steps away from Chanyeol, back onto the path.

“Uh, how do I do this…” Chanyeol muses, eyes fixed on the owl in his hands. It flutters slightly towards him, and Chanyeol clutches it carefully against his chest. Shifting the animal into the crook of his left arm, he cradles it softly and goes to open his rain jacket a little. He pulls on the thin scarf he’d tugged out of his backpack when it had started to grow darker, and lowers a sling of it down his neck. 

Grabbing the owl with both hands again, he turns it and then puts it into his scarf, closing the jacket over them both, so that the animal can still peek out if it wants to. 

It doesn’t seem to want to, as it immediately buries itself into Chanyeol’s chest. He’s tempted to call it snuggling, but he’s not sure owls usually do that. Though, _Nothing usual about this owl, or the other animals in this forest,_ he supposes with a frown.

He looks back up and sees the deer waiting for him, the mouse skipping between its hooves.

“So…,” Chanyeol starts hesitantly, nodding at the owl, “I suppose if I help you, you can get me to the forester’s house?”

The owl shuffles in its sling, beak picking softly into Chanyeol’s chest. The deer starts on its way down.

“Does that mean yes?” Chanyeol sighs, but is rewarded by the owl with another snuggle, the animal rubbing its feathered head into the sweater, eyes glittering up at Chanyeol.

A small smile creeps onto Chanyeol’s lips as their odd tour group makes for the way to what he hopes is Kyungsoo’s house.

\---

He checks the GPS sometime in between but does not recognize the area. Not even speaking of the paths; they seem as he has never been there before.

They go like this for a good hour. Rain is dripping from his hood; his shoes make wet squishing noises when he steps along the grounds. Chanyeol tries to shelter the owl from the weather as best as possible. He’s successful, if he does say so himself. The little bird is already completely dry inside his jacket, feathers fluffy again as it peers out sometimes (but it mostly stays inside, dozing).

Behind a drawn-out rock formation, they suddenly stand in the middle of an opening in the trees. The deer crosses it first, Chanyeol follows, looking at the sky that is invisible between the dark trees and clouds which still pour masses and masses of water down onto them. 

No less than five minutes later, Kyungsoo’s house appears almost magically behind some large firs. The deer has also stopped, it turns its head towards Chanyeol, seemingly checking if he really noticed the wooden building. It nudges Chanyeol’s thigh somewhat encouragingly.

“Okay, okay, this is Kyungsoo’s house, thank god!” Chanyeol exclaims happily, clutching the owl in his jacket a bit tighter to his chest, carefully. “Thank you for bringing me back,” he smiles down onto the deer, reaching out to scratch behind its antlers gently.

He then considers the little owl again.

“I doubt Kyungsoo will have something against me bringing you in. You shouldn’t be outside in this weather without shelter, I’m sure you can stay until the rain has stopped.”

The animal pokes his chest, getting a little fidgety in its sling.

“Okay, yeah, let’s get in,” Chanyeol tries to calm the owl, but he has to hasten his way over towards the door of the house quickly as the owl almost escapes his jacket in an attempt to reach the building.

He knocks, but the door is open, just like on the day he first stumbled upon it. As soon as he has taken a step inside, the owl is out of his jacket and up in the air. It floats just below the ceiling for a few moments, drawing circles and stretching its wings.

Although the owl had seemed relatively small, now, with wings spread to their full extent, feathers a rich brown with specks of black and grey, its presence appears much larger.

Chanyeol stares.

“You sure it’s okay for you to fly around here like you own this place?” he wonders out loud, hopping on one leg to remove the shoe on his other foot and throw it on the floor like the first.

He is just shedding his scarf and jacket, backpack already down on the floor, straightening his back with his arms outstretched in the air, when white sparkly spots appear in the edges of his vision. His hands lower immediately, cradling his head.

The owl, still mid-air, flutters downwards until it is just in front of his face.

“What—my, my eyes,” Chanyeol stutters, rubbing his eyes, fearing his accident is still not healed properly. He cannot worry anymore because just then there’s a warm drag of air across his face, the owl hovering.

Its huge, round, dark eyes fixed on Chanyeol’s. With another burst of air, the sparkles in his vision multiply. He does not trust his eyes anymore, at all.

The contours of his vision blur, the owl expanding, its eyes still locked on Chanyeol’s, and with kind of a huff—there’s _Kyungsoo standing in front of him._

_Directly in front of him._

Chanyeol’s mouth falls open, air catches in his throat. He can do nothing but watch Kyungsoo, who ruffles his clothes and straightens them, looking down briefly and then up again. His hair is disheveled, sticking up funnily at the left side of his head. He looks slightly put out, and—exhausted.

“Uh—uh,” Chanyeol gasps eloquently, rubbing his eyes again out of reflex. “Uhh?!” He takes a breath, to try and form words, but chokes and embarrassingly dissolves into a coughing fit.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo starts, his arm reaching out towards Chanyeol’s shoulder gently. “You okay?”

Chanyeol has to bend over, wheezing.

“I suppose I should have told you… this,” Kyungsoo murmurs, stroking down Chanyeol’s arm and grabbing onto his other shoulder as well.

“Try small breaths, yeah, relax, everything is okay.”

Chanyeol manages to calm down in the span of what are probably five long, agonizing minutes. His brain is whirling, thoughts manifesting and leaving in seconds. 

Kyungsoo— _Kyungsoo_ is an _owl?_

He—he carried him, _Kyungsoo,_ this whole trip?

He’s probably going to go insane.

_And wait—_ Kyungsoo _again_ managed to save his sorry ass from shamefully getting lost and dying in the woods…

He’s definitely going to go insane. _Insane. Definitely._

Kyungsoo, all the while, slides his hands down Chanyeol’s arms, rubbing his shoulders, head tilted in concern, watching Chanyeol’s face carefully.

“Sorry, Chanyeol, it’s just—please understand that I cannot go around telling everyone just like this. I’m sorry you had to witness this the way you did, but I had to fucking get out of that body,” Kyungsoo huffs, still holding Chanyeol, peering up.

Chanyeol succeeds to breathe again, almost normally, and stares at Kyungsoo in wonder. _Wow._

“Uhh, okay, okay—but, _what the hell_ are you?”

Kyungsoo sighs.

“See, when I told you I protect this forest, it wasn’t a lie. I have done so, for centuries now.”

Chanyeol feels his eyes widen. 

Still, somehow, this statement does not feel as foreign to him as it probably should. He’d thought from the beginning there had to be something special about Kyungsoo and his occupation. Also, the connection he’d felt had been so strong from the start; he’d already started to suspect there’d to be something odd.

It feels like a light going up inside his head.

He calms a bit, listening for his inner voice to tell him what to do. He is not surprised to not feel fear. Only warmth. Safety. A feeling of belonging. Home. Kyungsoo had given him this sensation of comfort from the beginning. Falling into this intimacy with him had not been something different.

Shoulders sagging in a reflex of exhaustion, Chanyeol takes a closer look on Kyungsoo’s appearance. His black hair, short, sticking up, his wide, dark eyes, containing some kind of glow. The serene facial expression, full lips tugged down, worriedly. His all-black clothes, shoulders filling the sweater with a crewneck showing the soft skin of his neck and jaw. Chanyeol lets his eyes roam over Kyungsoo, until he reaches his hands, still gripping his sleeves. He lifts his hands, taking Kyungsoo’s, tugging his body towards him into a hug.

“Thank you for finding me and bringing me back again,” he says, decidedly.

Kyungsoo winds his arms around Chanyeol’s waist, fingers, digging softly into his sweater, and snorts quietly.

Chanyeol inhales the warm air in the room, scrunches his eyes shut.

“I missed you,” he confesses, “I don’t know what to say, really, but—but, I want to tell you—I feel so good when I’m with you. This, whatever this is—it cannot be wrong, can it?”

“No,” Kyungsoo murmurs, face burying into Chanyeol’s sweater. “It’s older than time.” His arms grab Chanyeol tighter. Chanyeol presses his face to Kyungsoo’s hair, inhaling the fresh smell of the forest, and something uniquely Kyungsoo.

“Is it creepy that I don’t want to stop hugging you although I just discovered you’re maybe… not entirely human?”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo deadpans, pulling back a little. “I’m concerned. _Very._ Concerned.” He looks up, grin tugging at his lips.

Laughter bubbles up in Chanyeol. “Ah! So great!” He sighs, smiling.

\---

The next hour is spent in the main room of Kyungsoo’s small house, both men huddled together at the table in the middle of the room.

Chanyeol watches curiously as Kyungsoo fixes them something to eat, sitting on the sofa and clutching a mug of steaming herbal tea between his hands. Outside, the night is pitch black, and it seems as it is still raining. Based on the turn of events, Kyungsoo decides that he is allowed to take a night off from work to be able to answer Chanyeol’s each and every question.

When Kyungsoo has dinner all ready, both tuck into bowls of steaming spicy tomato soup with toasted dark bread, continuing their conversation. Once Chanyeol feels he has grasped the greater picture and thinks he does not have to stump down onto any more incredulously screaming bouts, they switch to hushed tones, as Kyungsoo explains his life at the moment.

He is the guardian of the forest as long as he can remember. He witnessed war, draught, famine, but also times of peace, wholesomeness, and nature at its most beautiful. He is able to change his form at his will, but also possesses the ability to communicate with all forms of the living (which is tiring, as Kyungsoo assures him, because _How do you tune out the permanent chatter of the woods?_ ).

Another power he holds is something like transmission of energy, of strength; as he can exchange energy from himself onto another being, thus improving their condition.

“This is also why I was so tired,” Kyungsoo explains, fetching the dishes and stacking them in the sink, “When you were injured, I transferred some matter onto you, so you would get better soon.”

“So I didn’t imagine that it hurt less after you touched me first?”

Kyungsoo hesitates briefly.

“No. I’d been so long that someone went astray so deep into the woods and you also injured yourself; I just couldn’t not. And then I really saw you…” he trails off, looking down at his soapy hands in the sink, a blush coloring the tips of his ears.

Chanyeol allows himself a small pleased smile. “Thank you, again.”

“No problem…”

When they have cleaned up the table and Kyungsoo stowed everything into the cupboards, Chanyeol watches as the man slowly turns, resting his hip against the small kitchen counter. He lets his eyes travel upwards from Kyungsoo’s crossed socked feet, up his dark trousers, resting briefly at his belt, before sliding his gaze over his flat stomach and strong chest. He looks so handsome, Chanyeol thinks, seemingly bewitched. He meets Kyungsoo’s eyes again, staring into dark orbs.

The pull towards him is strong. He feels it in his gut. In every limb.

Kyungsoo bites his lip, gaze burning hot all over Chanyeol.

“Say…” he whispers.

“Hm?” Chanyeol gulps.

“Care to continue where we left off earlier…?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes are glued to him. Chanyeol holds his breath.

He is still holding his breath when Kyungsoo pushes himself from the counter, taking a casual step towards him, body tight. He nods, head tilted down.

Kyungsoo reaches out for him—or is it Chanyeol who’s grabbing onto Kyungsoo’s waist—as they collide with breaths sucked in, lips sliding onto another’s hotly. 

From the first moment, the kiss is all soft lips, open mouths, insistent tongues.

Chanyeol’s fingers grab frantically for the seam of Kyungsoo’s shirt, pushing his fingers underneath and touching the skin, groaning into the kiss, mind dizzy with sensations. 

Pulling back a second, only to suck more kisses onto Kyungsoo’s lips, he opens his eyes and sees Kyungsoo’s face flushed beautifully, brow furrowing until he closes his eyes as well, sliding his tongue back into the other’s hot mouth, sucking, nipping at his lips.

Kyungsoo’s answering groan tells him everything he ever wanted to hear, fingers buried in his pullover.

He pushes at Chanyeol until he stumbles back, but still clings to his body. Their lips are locked, Kyungsoo’s eyes still closed. He manhandles him backwards, past the table and couch, over into his bedroom, where he shoves him onto his bed, towering over him with a smirk.

Chanyeol huffs a laugh when he catches himself on his elbows in the soft sheets. He looks at Kyungsoo with awe, sweet smile on his lips. His face feels hot, his whole body tingles.

“You don’t even know how hot you are,” Kyungsoo rasps, gaze burning. He lets himself fall onto Chanyeol, who laughs and clutches onto him immediately. Latching his lips onto Kyungsoo’s neck, he’s licking wetly over the skin, sucking another mark into the soft flesh.

Kyungsoo groans, his hands finding their way under Chanyeol’s sweater and t-shirt and pushing them up, up, until Chanyeol has to let go to pull the garments over his head. Just when his head is stuck inside the fabric, he feels a hot, wet sensation on his left nipple, and he jolts as a tremble forces his body into an uncooperative mess.

“Ah, Kyungsoo,” he moans, voice muffled, as he tries to get rid of the clothes over his face while Kyungsoo’s teeth mar the skin on his chest with little bites and licks.

When his trembling arms obey him again, he pulls off the sweater and finds Kyungsoo also shirtless.

He takes another look, eyes unseeing, then focusing, and—what’s _that_ —all over Kyungsoo’s upper body?

“What—what is this?” Chanyeol gasps, looking at something that appears to be white silvery— tattoos? 

All over Kyungsoo’s skin. Intricate lines collect and spread, weave around his chest, arms, up to just below his neck. Down his abdomen, his belly, into the waistband of his jeans. Patterned leaves, flowers, and designs he cannot even begin to name, all etched beautifully into Kyungsoo’s lightly tanned skin.

“You can call it tattoos—as these are scars—but more accurately it is the extent of my power,” Kyungsoo breathes, “It is my connection to the forest, to the spirits, to time. It is still growing, getting larger, more detailed, changing with everything I do.”

“It’s—it’s beautiful,” Chanyeol croaks, voice strangled. As if that word would adequately describe how Kyungsoo looks. _Words, at all._ He’s stunned. 

_Oh, my god. He—he’s perfect._

“You’re so beautiful,” he admires the man, tracing a trembling finger from Kyungsoo’s neck, over his collarbone, down his chest. The lines feel, if at all, smoother than the rest of his skin. If he wouldn’t see them, he probably would not notice any difference in the feel, at all. 

Kyungsoo shudders almost imperceptibly, a small smile traveling over his lips. He lets himself fall down into Chanyeol’s outstretched arms, their bare chests finally touching.

“No one has ever seen them.”

“Are they—all over you…?” Chanyeol inquires breathlessly, smearing his lips over Kyungsoo’s jaw.

“Yeah.”

“Can I, can I see?”

“Please, I beg you,” Kyungsoo huffs, already grappling with the button on Chanyeol’s jeans.

Chanyeol laughs, helping Kyungsoo get him out of his jeans and then setting to work on his trousers. Pushing them down over his legs bit by bit, he discovers strong, smooth thighs, covered with similar drawings and patterns like Kyungsoo’s torso and arms. They look as magnificent as the rest of him. 

With or without tattoos, Kyungsoo is stunning.

Both of them stare at each other.

Biting his lip, Chanyeol follows the way Kyungsoo’s eyes travel up his feet, over his legs, thighs, until they stop at his boxers.

“Want me to lose these, too?” Chanyeol asks with a wink, catching Kyungsoo in staring and witnessing his blush spreading down his cheeks to his neck.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo murmurs, and after a moment’s hesitation, hooks his fingers into Chanyeol’s underwear. His cock is hard, catching on the fabric as Kyungsoo tugs it down until it springs free, bumping against his underbelly and leaving a wet spot of precome.

The groan that forces its way out of Chanyeol’s throat does not want to be held back.

Sliding the boxers down his legs, he helps Kyungsoo and kicks them off. Kyungsoo’s hands grab his hips, fingers tight, until they slide to the middle and he traces a finger lightly over Chanyeol’s erection. From the base to the top, finger rubbing and spreading the wetness across the tip.

“ _Kyungsoo,_ ” Chanyeol breathes, helplessly.

“You look so good, I could eat you up,” Kyungsoo whispers, bent over Chanyeol, stroking his cock lightly with his hand now, eyes locked on his again.

“I would prefer—ah—if you got naked first,” Chanyeol gasps, “Then you can do all you want with me.”

In the span of two seconds, Kyungsoo sheds his boxer briefs, hard cock bouncing against his stomach, flushed and thick.

He presses Chanyeol into the sheets, Chanyeol’s thighs parting instantly to accommodate Kyungsoo on top of him, heels digging into the back of Kyungsoo’s thighs.

The full body contact causes them both to moan, Chanyeol’s legs already shaking on Kyungsoo’s hips, although they haven’t even done anything yet. 

It’s like he is starved for Kyungsoo’s touch, responsive to a level he would have never guessed himself. Each caress teases and soothes his nerve endings at the same time, leaving behind goosebumps and the desire for more.

“Ah, _fuck,_ Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo gasps, resting his weight on his elbows and stroking his fingers over Chanyeol’s cheeks, his jaw.

Their lips touch again. Soft grazes, only to get frantic; sweet kisses transforming into heated, deep lip locks, mouths and tongues hot and wet, breaths exchanged in the non-existent space between them. Needy, increasingly desperate.

Kyungsoo rocks his body between Chanyeol’s legs, skin sliding against skin, cocks pressed together. Chanyeol feels himself leaking, belly tight with arousal. His hands roam over Kyungsoo’s back, his nape where his hair is buzzed, up to bury into his short strands.

“You feel so good, Chanyeol… I want you—can I have you?”

“Want you, too—want you, want you inside me,” Chanyeol rasps, voice hoarse, and gliding his hands down and grabbing onto the man’s ass, feeling the firm cheeks, his hands almost covering them completely. He pushes him down with a strong grip, arching his back and feels Kyungsoo’s cock harden further against his belly.

Kyungsoo groans into his neck, sucking on the skin, leaving mark after mark on Chanyeol’s soft flesh.

“You’re going to kill me,” he huffs, also moving a hand down and pushing it on Chanyeol’s backside, fingers reaching the cleft, teasing briefly before he pushes himself up properly, gulping down air.

He looks just as affected as Chanyeol, embellished skin practically glowing under the faint sheen of sweat, pulsing. The patterns accentuate his muscles, the dip of his collarbone, his pecs, his arms, his taut stomach. His cock hangs heavy between his thighs. Chanyeol swallows. Kyungsoo’s driving him _insane_ with want. A groan escapes his throat, from deep down, and he has to close his eyes against a momentary wave of dizziness.

Kyungsoo extricates himself a bit further to reach over into his drawer. Chanyeol whines, impatient.

“Hey, I won’t stop,” Kyungsoo chuckles, leaning back and clicking open a bottle of lube.

Chanyeol’s belly clenches with anticipation as he watches Kyungsoo’s glistening fingers until they disappear between his legs.

When he feels a slick finger against his hole, he gasps and widens his legs further, knees raised up.

“You look so pretty,” Kyungsoo whispers, leaning in to press kisses to Chanyeol’s lips, cheeks, jaw, neck and shoulders.

Chanyeol feels his fingers rub his hole slowly, applying light pressure, spreading the lubricant. When Kyungsoo starts teasing his rim with a finger, just dipping in but not really, he shudders, a whine slipping from between his lips.

“Please, don’t tease me,” he almost sobs, “Want you so much.”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Kyungsoo soothes, sucking a nipple between his thick lips the moment his finger breaches Chanyeol for the first time. He pushes in slowly, but with ease, pulling the finger back, sliding it in again. Twisting it slightly, feeling for the right spot. His tongue laves over his nipple, teeth barely hinting at the peaked nub, and Chanyeol whimpers.

“You’re so sensitive,” Kyungsoo murmurs, rubbing his finger in small circles up and down inside Chanyeol. When he finds the little nub inside him, Chanyeol sobs, body tensing, legs trembling.

“Kyung—Kyungsoo,” he wails, trashing on the pillow.

“You’re doing so good, so good, Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol then feels Kyungsoo add a second finger, stretching his hole carefully but thoroughly. All the while, he sucks kisses onto Chanyeol’s torso, murmuring sweet nothings to comfort him.

Soon he is fucking Chanyeol with four fingers, Chanyeol feeling spread so wide, but so good. Kyungsoo is rubbing tight circles over his prostate, alternating with applying pressure to his rim as to not overwhelm him too much.

“Ahh, ah—want you, now,” Chanyeol gasps, delirious.

His body feels as if his skin is too tight, but in a good way. He feels warm and incredibly hot and wanted, Kyungsoo worshipping every part of his body he can reach, his kisses blazing hot.

“Just, just let me get a condom,” Kyungsoo stumbles, visibly aroused, fingers trembling when he wipes them on the sheets to fetch a small package from his nightstand.

Chanyeol watches, flushed, breathing heavily, as Kyungsoo manages to tear the package, takes out the condom and rolls it over his thick cock, gasping for a breath of air when he applies more lube.

He crawls between Chanyeol’s thighs again, his hands smoothing over the dips of Chanyeol’s hips, admiring the soft skin tight over his hipbones. He pulls Chanyeol’s ass slightly towards him, helps him tilt his hips up a little.

Chanyeol has his lower lip tucked between his teeth and watches with half-lidded eyes as Kyungsoo leans forward on one arm, his other hand going to hold his cock and pressing it against Chanyeol’s slick hole.

“Do it already, _Kyungsoo,_ ” Chanyeol whines, “ _Fuck—_ fuck me!”

Kyungsoo huffs a grin, pushing in, breaching Chanyeol, until his cock is fully encompassed in his tight, slick heat. The grin on his face slips away and makes room for a desperate expression, a hoarse moan escaping him.

“Ahh—ah, oh _god,_ ” Chanyeol rasps, “You feel so good, your cock—fuck, ahh, like that!"

Kyungsoo starts fucking into him slow and deep, his movements intense, face scrunched up in concentration.

“ _Kyungsoo,_ ” Chanyeol moans, hands clinging to the man’s hips, fingers digging in hard. The feeling is intense.

Kyungsoo stretches up to press a kiss onto Chanyeol’s mouth, their lips and tongues meeting, sloppily.

Just as Chanyeol is going to demand _more, harder,_ Kyungsoo’s right hand grabs his thigh, fingers stroking the skin on the underside, and _presses_ it up and back towards Chanyeol’s chest. The angle changes, Chanyeol’s hips tilting forward. He shouts.

Kyungsoo groans as he starts fucking into Chanyeol with purpose now. Fucking his cock into Chanyeol, dragging over his prostate on the way in, on the way out.

“So tight,” he groans, “You feel amazing, Chanyeol, fuck—fuck,” he rests his head against Chanyeol’s chest as he rocks them both, fucking Chanyeol up the sheets.

He presses him down harder, Chanyeol’s cock catching on Kyungsoo’s stomach, wet tip dragging against the muscles.

“Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, I—I’m close,” Chanyeol wails as he feels his stomach tighten, his balls drawing up, his nerves tingling, buzzing.

“ _Fuck,_ Chanyeol…”

“Fuck me, fuck me, Kyungsoo, oh, _god,_ fuck me so good,” Chanyeol whimpers, out of his mind.

Kyungsoo’s cock fucks against his prostate especially hard on an upward push and his cock rubs just so against his skin – Kyungsoo groaning into his chest – and with a sharp bite to his nipple, his arousal crests and crashes back into him violently.

With a moan, or more of a sob, his cock jumps, spurting milky white ropes of come onto both their bodies. Chanyeol feels his body tighten, his cock giving another spurt and another, his toes are curling and his head is pressed into the pillows, mouth open in ecstasy, breath held. 

Kyungsoo does not relent and fucks him through it, fucks into his prostate with precision, forcing sob after sob out of Chanyeol, gasping endearments and _You are so beautiful, Just look at you, My god, Chanyeol,_ and _You are doing_ so _good._

Chanyeol cannot seem to come down from his high, blissed out and arched towards him. With one, two more desperate thrusts, Kyungsoo fucks deep into Chanyeol and comes as well, shoulders shaking, moaning softly.

He rests his weight onto Chanyeol, who huffs a satisfied breath, nuzzling Kyungsoo’s temple.

“Wow,” he whispers, “You are amazing, Kyungsoo.”

“Chanyeol, _you_ are amazing,” Kyungsoo counters, smiling into Chanyeol’s chest.

“Thank you.”

After another few breaths, Kyungsoo pushes himself up slowly, and carefully pulls out, watching Chanyeol’s hole in the process. Chanyeol whimpers when he brushes his thumb over the sensitive skin lightly. 

“You’re so pretty,” he repeats, which has Chanyeol blushing violently again. When Kyungsoo has pushed off and tied the condom, he fetches a little towel from the drawer and starts wiping him down gently.

“I suggest we take a bath?”

Chanyeol smiles dazedly. “Sounds great,” he affirms, moaning softly when Kyungsoo cleans his stretched rim, sliding the towel gently over his perineum and balls.

With a wince, Chanyeol sits up, and lets himself be pulled up into Kyungsoo’s warm arms.

Both stay like this for a moment, in a tight embrace, standing completely naked in the middle of Kyungsoo’s small bedroom. Chanyeol is covered in hickeys, Kyungsoo flushed from the exertion beneath his beautifully adorned skin.

Chanyeol breathes him in, reveling in the feeling of Kyungsoo’s soft, silky skin and feeling his heart beating steadily against him.

Stumbling a little, he lets himself be led towards the bathroom, where Kyungsoo fetches two large white towels, putting them upon the sink as he starts the water filling the tub.

“Just go in already,” he motions for Chanyeol, “I’ll be right back.”

Chanyeol wants to protest, but Kyungsoo is already out of the room, so he huffs to himself and gets into the tub, grinning.

The hot water is like balm for his sore muscles, mellowing the fibers and soothing his skin. He leans back, watching the water level rise gradually, playing with the soapy bubbles on his thighs. His body is still pleasantly buzzing, the afterglow of his orgasm making him feel tingly and warm. 

Butterflies soar through his belly at the thought of what they have just done. At how he’d like to do it again already.

Further relaxing, he watches as Kyungsoo comes back, closing the door behind him. He’s still gloriously naked, his marred skin filling him with awe. _He’s really like something otherworldly,_ Chanyeol thinks, and _I’m so lucky to be with him._

Kyungsoo hands Chanyeol a glass of chilled water, setting the bottle onto the floor next to the tub, together with more towels and shirts.

“Figured you’d be thirsty,” he grins, brow raised as he observes Chanyeol gulping down the water. He takes the glass and sets it aside, Chanyeol thanking him happily.

Kyungsoo then lifts his foot and then the other and steps into the hot water, lowering himself down with a sigh. He gestures for Chanyeol to come over. Chanyeol switches immediately from sitting opposite of Kyungsoo to floating into his arms, legs outstretched next to his, as he seeks his lips for another kiss.

They kiss languidly, Chanyeol sucking on his tongue, sliding into his mouth and mapping the soft wetness of it. Kyungsoo’s hands roam over his back, pressing into his shoulder muscles, working them absently. It feels so damn good. 

Chanyeol groans quietly, feeling his cock swelling again. He squirms a little against Kyungsoo, water splashing; pressing himself closer, with more urgency. Kyungsoo gives a soft moan, fingers of his right hand traveling down, sliding over his ass and between his cheeks. Chanyeol moans, delirious.

“Want you,” he whispers against Kyungsoo’s lips, stroking Kyungsoo with both hands on his chest, pinching his nipples.

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo groans, both hands now digging into Chanyeol’s cheeks, pushing him against his body. “You’re so hard already… fuck.”

“Please, please, fuck me, again,” Chanyeol whimpers between sloppy kisses, feeling Kyungsoo’s hard cock sliding below his balls just now, nudging his perineum. “I can take it…”

“ _God._ Chanyeol, _condoms._ ”

Chanyeol whines, feeling pathetical that he has to be reminded of something so obvious.

“But—but, I want to… ahh!” He jolts as two of Kyungsoo’s fingers fuck into him easily, finding the little nub of his prostate instantly. The warm water ripples around them as Chanyeol shudders, Kyungsoo drawing firm circles over his prostate. Chanyeol feels absolutely wrecked and on fire in less than three seconds.

“ _Yes,_ , yes, oh god, there!”

“We can go another round as soon as we’re out of here, I promise you,” Kyungsoo rasps against Chanyeol’s throat, teeth fixing onto the soft skin, tugging and sucking dark marks. “Gonna fuck you so good.”

“Yes, yes,” Chanyeol sobs, writhing on Kyungsoo’s lap, pressing closer and letting his nails leave pink crescents on Kyungsoo’s inked shoulders.

Dizzy, flushed all over and glistening wet from the bath, he presses down onto Kyungsoo’s fingers, tilts his body forward and crashes his lips onto Kyungsoo’s. Swiping his tongue into his mouth, he grinds down, Kyungsoo’s fingers feeling so thick, so good, teasing and fucking into him so perfectly.

“Are you close?”

“Ahh, ah,” Chanyeol can only respond, too turned on to form proper words.

When he feels Kyungsoo’s other hand slip from his hip and fingers find his cock, squeezing the head, a desperate moan is torn from his throat.

“Come for me,” Kyungsoo growls, and with his thumb digging in just under the head in a firm rub, Chanyeol does just that, shivery, moans spilling from his lips.

Chanyeol takes only two deep, gasping breaths, before he plunges his hands into the water, tugging on Kyungsoo’s hard cock, teasing his balls with the other. He presses his face into Kyungsoo’s neck, inhaling his scent, vision still sparkling with the aftermaths of his high.

He moans again, stroking Kyungsoo’s cock, loose at the base, then with a firm twist at the head.

“You’re so hot,” Chanyeol huffs, eliciting small groans and moans from Kyungsoo and delighting in the slight tremble of his shoulders. He shifts his head a bit, watching Kyungsoo’s body dissolve in the water, tattoos melting into the steamy, soapy fluids.

Water splashes as he accelerates his motions, swiping his palm over the head of Kyungsoo’s cock, and with a hoarse groan, he feels it spill beneath his fingers into the water.

Sucking kisses into the man’s skin, he lets them both calm down, Kyungsoo holding Chanyeol, hands splayed on his back.

“Time for a real bath, hm?”

Chanyeol nods, a bit tired. Kyungsoo grabs a washcloth, lathers some more soap over it and starts scrubbing them both down gently, taking his time in cleaning Chanyeol first, and then himself. When he opens the drain, he washes everything away with fresh warm water, until both climb out of the tub.

Wrapping Chanyeol into a large white towel, kissing his nose, he smirks at him.

Chanyeol can’t seem to smother his smile, he just feels so genuinely happy. When they’re both sufficiently dried off and dressed in sets of shirts and boxers, Kyungsoo steers him back into the bedroom, where a fresh, crisp set of sheets is put up.

Tucking them into the covers, Kyungsoo half spread onto Chanyeol, he is reminded of their first night here, him waking up with Kyungsoo in his arms, similar to this.

Fingers gently smooth over his collarbones.

“Say,” Chanyeol starts hesitantly, shifting. “I got all work for my project done out there…”

Kyungsoo just watches him, one brown eye opened, brow lifted.

Chanyeol clears his throat.

_How does he frame this now?_

That he wants to keep seeing Kyungsoo, even though his job here is effectively done and he has to get back soon. That he wants to pursue this thing between them, that he hopes it’s not just fucking, that he almost prays Kyungsoo wants all that, too.

Just when he is about to open his mouth to undoubtedly stumble his way around the words in his head, he notices Kyungsoo trembling slightly upon him. The vibrations get stronger, until Kyungsoo is shaking and Chanyeol finally comprehends that he is _laughing._ Actually laughing. Small chuckles escape Kyungsoo’s throat, his eyes squeezed to half-moons.

“Hey, hey, what’s so funny?”

Chanyeol shakes Kyungsoo softly, rustling the sheets and pushes his head away to look at him. His lips are drawn into the most beautiful, infectious smile he has ever seen. When Kyungsoo opens his eyes, the sparkle as they did the first time when he lost himself in there.

“Ah, sorry, Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo sighs, smiling broadly, “I’m afraid I might have not told you the whole picture…” he bites his bottom lip. Chanyeol’s eyes follow, and he catches the man’s soft lips with his own again, pressing a firm kiss onto them, before growing tender anew.

“I… also work at university, if you want to call it like that,” Kyungsoo starts.

_“What?”_

“Yeah. It’s true that this is my forest, and what you’ve seen about me is also true.” He hesitates and Chanyeol’s eyes grow big.

“But I’m also part-time associate professor at your faculty, although you haven’t yet taken a course of mine. I only do turns in the winter semester, as the forest is much more quiet then and I’m not required to be here as much as in the summer.”

“You— _you’re a professor?”_ Chanyeol murmurs, stunned.  
“For bio-geology, and while we’re at it: I knew you would be doing this project, I consulted with the teaching assistant to give you another chance and assign you to it. Although I assure you, I haven’t intended— _this,_ as crazy as it may sound.”

Chanyeol just stares. Stares at this unbelievable, _incredible_ man, who’s blushing in all honesty under his scrutiny, and—who’s still in his arms, relaxed and loose.

“I observed you last semester when you took the courses of my colleague, Professor Kim. You were so passionate and when you failed your last exam…” he stops, apparently remembering the incident. He then shakes his head. 

“Though, I could not have anticipated that you would be so thoroughly lost in the woods on your own.”

“Hey,” Chanyeol huffs, giving a light punch towards Kyungsoo’s left shoulder.

“Sorry,” Kyungsoo murmurs, ducking into his chest. Chanyeol’s heart throbs when he starts to press warm kisses onto his pecs. “I hope you’re not upset that I led you on a bit?”

Chanyeol pouts, albeit halfheartedly, but cannot hide that his heart feels a lot lighter. If Kyungsoo is a professor at his department, that means they should be able to continue _this—_ under a lot easier circumstances than he dared to hope.

“Uhh—no—but, but what am I… to you?” Chanyeol shyly asks, close to being overwhelmed again.

_What a life._

Kyungsoo looks up at him, all dark eyes and handsome face. He slowly lays his head on Chanyeol’s chest, rubbing his cheek against his skin before coming up and pecking his lips, cheeks, nose and forehead. Brushing his blonde hair back, carding his fingers through it before resting his hand on Chanyeol’s neck. Chanyeol feels all hot under his gaze, cherished, safe, warm.

“If I have any say, then—everything, to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> You made it! This took a weird turn… Thank you for reading, please tell me how you liked it. *hides
> 
> Also, now that I’m through with this, I can finally tell you: I’m no geologist; I have no idea what Chanyeol does. I’m also, sadly, no owl expert.


End file.
